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Looking back on recent VIC-20 developments, few would disagree that one product stands above all else, and that is Astro Nell, released in December 2004 by Cosine (and later Cronosoft) and developed by Matt Simmonds. Requiring no extra RAM, this brought a Jet Set Willy clone to the humble VIC in grand fashion, fitting into just 3.58KB of RAM (less memory than this text file), and meticulous in detail. Like Nell, Blue Star requires no extra memory and is an 'explorer'-styled platform game with probably an even bigger locale to venture through.

Our hero finds himself in an enemy base, and his task is to search for equipment and destroy the computer core somewhere in the complex. He can leap about the place (finding the jet pack will aid in this), and there are roaming nasties to avoid. His energy counter may, of course, be replenished on picking up any item within. There's nothing too original, but this game is well implemented.

Using the VIC's high-colour (or low-resolution) graphics mode, all software sprites within are eight by eight pixels. The main character moves quickly and easily, and there's a simple looped tune running throughout play with a simple sound effect when the player jumps or uses the jet pack. Unlike most Jet Set Willy clones, our hero can be moved in mid-air, which is handy for negotiating past the foes within. The main sprite is perhaps a little too nippy and could have been implemented at a more sedate pace, but that's not a big distraction, and neither (surprisingly) is the music, although it will grind on you eventually. Rooms are numbered to help you build up a mental map, which is handy, as some of the locations are recycled to make a bigger game.

More roaming foes than last time usually appear when re-entering a screen, which stops the game becoming too stale. Blue Star is a very worthwhile release for the old VIC and should be had by any fans of the 8-bit. Now, if only there was a real media release pending...?

Product: Blue Star
Developer: Steve 'Kweepa' McCrea
Publisher: Self published
Download: www.kweepa.com/step/games/BlueStar.zip
Price: Free
Required Spec: Unexpanded Commodore VIC-20

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This is quite an odd release in 8-bit terms, as it has been made public via Atari Age's forum rather than a dedicated website, which in my opinion has hindered its development somewhat.

Metagalactic Llamas Battle At The Edge Of Time is very much Jeff Minter's baby, with nearly all of the original VIC-20 code intact, with the exception of a few tweaks to make it run on the Atari, as was Karolj's dream. For the most part, he's done a good job.

Naturally, the game deals with the distant future when we discover that we are not alone in the universe. Enter the evil Zzyax, a civilisation hell-bent on destroying all intelligent, free-thinking life forms. Our only hope of survival is a super-mutated breed of intelligent camel that protect Earth's outposts on the very edges of time. Thus starts a rather fun shoot-'em-up, especially to be enjoyed by fans of the mighty Minter.

The Metabeasts (as they are known) are armed with a diagonal-shooting laser which will obliterate the Zzyaxian's invading forces of arachnids. These invaders appear randomly at the top of the screen and make their way downwards, using power-by-numbers to over-run the precious outpost and kill off all of the Metabeasts that protect it. The laser shot can be deflected by a force field that moves vertically.

Starting off at a comfortable pace, this game can be great fun indeed. My only real complaint is that earlier release candidates of it had a slightly wider play area by keeping to the original VIC code, making the play area 22 columns wide. As the Atari screen could only display twenty columns of that, there was a slight scroll left and right, with an alarm when arachnids attacked but were out of view. This feature has sadly been lost as the play area is now static and slightly smaller. That doesn't detract from the pureness of the game mechanic which has literally been brought right out of the early 80's to the present day, but on an 8-bit micro. We can therefore admire it for what it is, a game created in a more experimental era, and something that shouldn't be overlooked.

Developer: Jeff Minter
Conversion: Karolj 'Heaven' Nadj
Publisher: Self published
Download: tiny.cc/2qy7p
Price: Free
Required Spec: 64K Atari XE/XL